Dr. Marshall W. Johnson, IPM Cooperative Extension specialist and entomologist in the Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside (UCR), was elected as Fellow in 2006. He is internationally recognized for his outstanding contributions to entomology in research, teaching, extension, and the development and implementation of successful IPM programs in many cropping systems.
Johnson was born in Roanoke, VA, on 20 August 1950. He attended North Carolina State University at Raleigh, completing his B.S. degree in 1972 and M.S. degree in 1974, both in entomology. Afterwards, he earned his Ph.D. in entomology at UCR in 1979, where he focused on biological control, IPM, and insect ecology. He briefly served as assistant professor of entomology with Kansas State University. In 1981, he took a postdoctoral position at UCR, and in 1983 was hired as an assistant professor and assistant entomologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH-Manoa), Honolulu, HI. He spent 19 years at UH-Manoa being promoted to professor of entomology and entomologist in 1992. While there, he was chair of the Department of Entomology (1996–1998) and co-chair (1997–1998) and vice chair (1998–2002) of the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Services. He returned to the Department of Entomology, UCR, in 2002. His office and laboratory are located at the University of California Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Parlier, CA, in the San Joaquin Valley.
His efforts in the fields of IPM and biological control have resulted in a reduction in pesticide use and maximization of natural enemies in a number of cropping systems. He worked on several major pests on vegetables (e.g., Liriomyza leafminers, whiteflies, spider mites) and tree and vine crops (e.g., glassy-winged sharpshooter, oriental fruit moth, olive fruit fly). He has published more than 220 scientific articles including over 150 refereed papers. Google Scholar Citations lists more than 4,100 citations of Johnson’s articles since 1975.
Over his career, he served as major professor to four M.S. and nine Ph.D. students and supervised 21 postdoctoral researchers. While at UH-Manoa, he taught the main courses focusing on economic entomology and biological control. These efforts were recognized via a Teaching Award of Merit presented by the National Association of Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture.
Johnson received numerous awards for his research accomplishments from several organizations including UH-Manoa, the Hawaiian Entomological Society, and the ESA. He was also elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as president of the Hawaiian Entomological Society (1991) and the Neartic Regional Section of the International Organization for Biological Control (2007–2009). He was also a member of the ESA Governing Board (1996–1998) and chair of several ESA-related committees, the editor of the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Hawaii for several years and an editor of Biological Control (1997–2004).
Johnson is an avid photographer of nature, people, and landscapes. He enjoys reading about American history.
(Updated February, 2013)